As a kid growing up my mom was not very well versed in making Chinese food (she once made chow mein with angel hair noodles). I wanted to know how to make lo mein like in Chinese restaurants but despite her best efforts we’d end up with were soy sauce flavored noodles with all the veggies she thought she could hide in the pot.

It was a valiant effort, but it never really tasted like Chinese food from a Chinese Restaurant.

Since watching my favorite Daytime talkshow make their version of The Chew chicken lo mein (I’m a huge Micheal Symon fan), I had a craving to make some lo mein.

What you’re looking at is my quickly thrown together lo mein with the ingredients I had on hand and it was as delicious as my favorite takeout spot. My husband was watching along with me but he didn’t understand the difference of lo mein vs chow mein until he saw the difference in these noodles!

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LO MEIN AND CHOW MEIN?

A traditional chow mein has noodles that are boiled, then stir fried until having a slightly crisped exterior while lo mein is boiled then tossed in a sauce without cooking the noodles an additional amount. The noodles are roughly the same, both egg noodles, but lo mein noodles are normally thicker and chewier.

WHAT KIND OF SAUCE IS IN LO MEIN?

Lo Mein sauce is made with a sesame oil base that the noodles are tossed in with garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and soy sauce to round out the slightly sweet and slightly spicy sacuce.

LO MEIN RECIPE VARIATIONS:

Shrimp Lo Mein: Cook the shrimp after the veggies instead of before and remove them reserving them to toss with the pasta at the end. Undercook the shrimp by about 15 seconds before cause they will keep cooking in with the pasta.

Beef Lo Mein: Flank steak is the best beef for lo mein. Slice the beef against the grain and cook in on a high heat for just 30 seconds on each side.

Vegetable Lo Mein: The easiest of all the varieties, add in your favorite vegetables cooked until just softened but still with a crisp bite.

BEST VEGETABLES FOR LO MEIN:

broccoli

red and green bell pepper

snow peas

green onions

sliced baby bok choy

sliced zucchini

julienned carrots

thinly sliced onions

INGREDIENTS

10 ounces Chinese egg noodles

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 chicken breasts sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 cloves garlic minced

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup lite soy sauce

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 carrot thinly sliced

1/2 cup onion slices

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1 cup bean sprouts

Cook the egg noodles one minute shy of the directions.

Drain and toss with sesame oil in a bowl to coat.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.

Cook the chicken 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through.

Remove from the pan and add in the red bell peppers, ginger and garlic and cook them for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently until just softened.

Add in the water, soy sauce, cornstarch, vegetable oil and oyster sauce into the skillet.Add in the carrot, onion and cabbage and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding back in the chicken and egg noodles.

Add in the bean sprouts, toss all the ingredients together well and serve.